Throughout the past few months, Netbooks have been on the rise. There are more companies manufacturing Netbooks than one could have imagined a year ago from today. Acer, Asus, HP, MSI and Dell are all contributing to the game, each releasing various configurations of their machines. I own a 15.4" MacBook Pro that can outperform these machines combined, yet I still find myself craving for one.

What is it that makes Netbooks so attractive?

Price. With the current economic state, people are afraid to spend money. They are not as lenient with their wallets as they may have been before the "crisis," so, machines that easily run below $300 are quickly considered.

Portability. It's a great feeling to be able to carry stuff with you wherever you go, especially when it's something as useful as a computer. It's light, looks good, and does the job. Screen real-estate may not be there, but people don't seem to mind giving it up for on-the-go productivity (which is another issue on its own). Most of the time, we only need our computers to perform basic (but important) functions, and Netbooks often do a great job at it.

Read the rest after the jump...

What should you keep in mind when considering buying one?

Limited productivity due to small screen, small battery, and keyboard:
A screen smaller screen with a resolution that's barely enough to get the job done may be annoying at first, but if you learn to manage your space properly, it shouldn't really be a problem. Today's laptops have pretty crappy battery life, especially if they're designed for performance. The battery lasts, on average, about 3 hours depending on your activity. If you purchase a 6-cell battery, your productivity will drastically improve. Last but not least, going from a full-size keyboard to one that's about 85% of the standard size (or smaller) won't exactly be the most comfortable experience.

Lack of performance with intensive tasks, and limited upgradability:
Let's face it - the fact that these Netbooks come standard with 512MB to 1GB of RAM doesn't exactly help the mobile Atom processors. Some machines allow you to upgrade the RAM to 2GB on your own, but that's about it. 1GB may get the job done with tasks like web browsing and power points, but you can't get too heavy with the amount of pages you load and how many slides you create.

Is it worth buying a Netbook?

Yes, but only after you understand the purpose of having one; It cannot be your primary work machine, and it probably should not replace your existing (more powerful) notebook. Do mind that extra bells and whistles like Bluetooth and Webcam will probably cost you extra.

I was seconds away from buying a Dell Mini 9 with good specs for a great price, but I decided that it would be more for leisure than productivity.

Question to you: If you own a Netbook, what made you get it, and was it worth it? If not, what's holding you back?

11 Replies

Have you seen the HP series, they have a VERY nice keyboard on them considering their size.

I was thinking of getting either a Dell or a MSI Wind because they have a 3G internet slot. At work we're heavily firewalled and I need to be able to maintain my own personal dedicated server from time to time.

Indeed, the HP Mini series has the best keyboard I've played with out of them all, and it probably can't get any better than that. Taking advantage of the 3G slot would give you a true and complete mobile experience.

There are some great things that can be done with Netbooks, especially since you have the option of installing Linux, Windows XP, and in some cases Mac OS X. Mac OS X has a great space management feature called "Spaces" which allows you to have 16 different desktops. Combined with "Expose," getting around your apps would be a breeze.

I know that Linux has this feature as well, and some version of Windows 7 will include it, but we'll have to see.

Hi Lasha,
I found the wikipedia quite helpful which you sent me on April 01, 2009. But as I have a debate on netbook vs. notebook, I need more information and the advantage of having netbooks as well as notebooks. I need the key points. Thank you. Bye

Samia, I'm glad you found the Wikipedia article useful. Here's a short and direct comparison of Netbooks and Notebooks:

1) Power: Notebooks are much more powerful than Netbooks and can easily run several intensive applications at a time. Notebooks generally have more RAM (2 or 3GB to start) by default.

2) Screen size: With a bigger screen, you will be able to see a lot more, more easily than a small 9 or 10 inch screen. Most Netbooks have VGA outputs that allow you to connect to larger monitors, but the HP Mini netbooks do not.

3) Disc Drive: Netbooks don't have disc drives, so if you rely on using CDs and DVDs frequently, you can either stick with a full size notebook, or get an external USB drive for the netbook.

4) Portability: You may be able to carry a standard notebook everywhere just like a tiny netbook, but it won't be nearly as light. If portability is important to you, and storage/power/screen size are extra, Netbooks are great.

5) Most netbooks come with built in Solid State Drives (SSD), or 120/160GB hard drives. Standard notebooks, on the other hand, come with much larger and faster hard drives.

Are you looking for a machine for specific uses, or just general use? I feel I may be able to recommend something for you once I know this.

I've been considering getting a netbook for a while now. But your article has pointed out something I was overlooking. Netbooks are great for portability, but they won't replace your primary work machine. So I'll probably still be using my home computer more often. I don't think the amount of use I'll get out of a netbook will validate the money I spend on it.

Guess I'll stick with my laptop then 😛 Now If only I could find a replacement fan for it...

Just read latest review on Toshiba netbook and I am really tempted. Funny thing is that I recently made the shift to Mac and have minimized my use of Windows (still rely on it for some programs that just don't have Mac equivalent), so the idea of diving back into a Windows system seems like moving backwards. At the same time, I spend many hours hauling around my 13" MacBook in order to access my home computer via GoToMyPC (which has finally developed a functional Mac viewer). Between the dropbox cloud and GoToMyPC, the netbook is starting to make more sense and I can relegate the MacBook to home use or for long trips....

Have any of you actually used GoToMyPC on your netbook? I am considering getting one for travel which is when I use gtmpc... However, I was told by the sales people that I would probably be very disappointed with its performance when using this application. However, they admitted they have not actually tried this. What has been your experience? Thanks!